Your First Writing Lesson

Your First Writing Lesson

Your first ThinkCERCA writing lesson will be crucial in fostering student engagement and ownership. The first lesson will allow teachers to set and scaffold expectations, engage students in discussion and collaboration frequently, and introduce the format of ThinkCERCA Close Reading & Writing Lessons. Watch Previewing a Close Reading & Writing Lesson to get acclimated with navigation and associated Lesson Supports.

Below is a lesson plan for a suggested implementation of your first ThinkCERCA lesson. It can be customized to support any Close Reading & Writing Lesson. Please note that each teacher may integrate this differently and the template is purely for guidance.

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand teachers’ expectations around the Writing Lesson.

• Navigate the six steps of the Writing Lesson and use the tools within the lesson to support their application of skills.

• Engage in discussion with peers about the Class Discussion Question.

• Respond to a writing prompt, using evidence from the text to support their response.

Before the Lesson

1. Teach the CERCA framework: Use our “What is CERCA” Direct Instruction lesson to preteach the CERCA components.

1. Consider using Cornell Notes to have students record notes during the lesson. You may allow students to use these notes on the Check questions if desired.

2. Review the Close Reading & Writing Lesson: Read through the writing lesson. Pick out videos or other content that may activate background knowledge for students. Be sure to preview the scaffolds available for students in the lesson including Immersive Reader, “Need Help Getting Started”, and the AI Feedback Scan. Determine the student writing output for the first lesson. Consider a shorter writing task as students learn the framework and platform; an intro paragraph, CER paragraph, etc. What will your expectations be?

1. Review the Glossary list for the lesson and determine any vocabulary that should be pretaught to students.

3. Assign the Lesson: Assign the Close Reading & Writing Lesson to your class / classes. For ELA, determine any Direct Instruction or Skills Lessons that can be used to preteach standards you will address in this Close Reading & Writing Lesson.

1. During your first (or second!) writing lesson, it’s important to model each step for students during whole class instruction. Once assigned, Teachers have a class specific version in Student View to model each step and save progress across days.

4. Setup the Classroom: Arrange students to facilitate group work. Post the Writing Prompt in the room for students to refer back to throughout the lesson. If group work is not an existing norm in the classroom, consider pairing desks to facilitate discussion while expectations and norms for collaboration are established.

During the Lesson

Keep in mind that a Close Reading & Writing Lesson takes students through the full reading and writing processes and it’s important to follow the framework in-app during the first lesson to acclimate students to the steps and their associated scaffolds. Pacing expectations for this lesson plan are based on a standard, 45-50 minute daily schedule. Make adjustments for time for varied instructional models or based on the length of the reading.

Day 1: Remember to use the Class specific versions in Student View to model the actions for students and save progress for each bell.

1. Discussion Question: Ask students to do a Quick Write on the Class Discussion Question for a Warm Up (found on Lesson Overview page or Start page).
1. After adequate time for students to write, ask a few students to share their responses with the class to introduce different background knowledge and perspectives.

2. Consider activating prior knowledge about the topic with a KWLQ chart and/or by including a relevant video or image about the topic.

2. Glossary: Preteach any identified vocabulary words from the glossary that may impede students’ comprehension. Prioritize words with common morphemes or varied uses in different contexts.
1. Consider grouping or pairing students, giving each a selected word, and asking them to complete a Frayer Model on their word before sharing out with the whole class. These can be posted for reference throughout the lesson.
3. Overview & Connect: Read the Topic Overview aloud to students and model using the embedded vocabulary links while reading. Then, direct students to the Connect step and ask them to respond to the Connect question.
1. Use the Think-Pair-Share to have students share their responses with a peer after responding. Ask a few pairs to share their discussion with the class if time permits.

Day 2

1. Read: Open your assignment version to the Read step and complete a read-aloud of the text or use the audio. Be sure to pause frequently to gauge comprehension and ask text-dependent questions.
1. Consider having students record their responses to the Pause & Reflect Questions. If your selected lesson does not have Pause & Reflect questions, stop the read-aloud every time a new topic, person, or time frame is introduced.
2. Introduce the Immersive Reader feature to students at some point during this first reading and encourage them to use whatever features they need while reading.
2. Check: Give students time to complete the Check questions individually or complete them as a whole-class to model analyzing the questions and answer options.
1. Consider using Paired Assessment Practice to boost engagement and foster collaboration & discourse that will deepen students’ understanding of the topic.
3. Analyze: Navigate to the Analyze step and read the highlighting prompts aloud to students. Be sure to set expectations for how many pieces of evidence students will identify, e.g. two highlights with annotation per prompt. Model for students how to use the highlighter and add an annotation before clicking Save on their highlight. Encourage students to connect the evidence back to the prompt in their annotations.
1. Consider using Pair to Square to boost engagement and foster collaboration & discourse that will deepen students’ understanding of the topic.

Day 3

1. Summary: Open your assignment version for this bell to the Summarize step and review the criteria for an effective summary.
1. Consider allowing students to use the sentence frames in “Need Help Getting Started” on this step or using the 3-2-1 Summary to model identifying key details for the students and working collaboratively to create a summary as a whole class.
2. Analyze: Navigate to the Analyze step and model for students how to select the cards needed to meet the expectations for the writing (e.g. Claim, Evidence, Reasoning for a CER paragraph only). Be sure students know the “Need Help Getting Started” on this step includes direction, examples, and sentence starters for each component. Model for students how to navigate between their Highlights, Writing, Text, and Rubric tabs in the Your Writing window.
1. As students work to develop their writing, circulate the room to check for understanding and provide feedback on their progress. Catching errors in the Develop step can encourage students to work through confusion and decrease writing anxiety.

Day 4

1. Draft: Open your assignment version for this bell to the Draft step and model for students how to copy their cards from the Develop step into their draft. Be sure students understand clearly that they should add elaboration, transitions, etc. to turn their outline into a coherent draft. Be sure students know the “Need Help Getting Started” on this step includes new direction, examples, and sentence starters for turning the outline into a draft.
1. As students finish their drafts, encourage them to use the AI Feedback Scan to get suggestions on revisions to strengthen their writing. Preview what the AI Feedback looks like for students here.
   
   

After the Lesson

1. Score and provide feedback on students’ writing by grading manually or using AI Scoring. If using AI Scoring, be sure to preview results and feedback so you’re aware of student performance. If scoring manually, consider this Guidance to Score Writing for feedback stems.
2. Allow time to “return” results to students in class so they can review their Growth Focus, overall score, rubric category scores, and the feedback provided for each.
1. Consider modifying this Data Reflection Sheet to have students record their feedback and Growth Focus so they can refer back when completed future writing.
3. Plan Your Next Lesson: Determine when you will implement your next Close Reading & Writing Lesson. For ELA, consider assigning a Direct Instruction or Skills Lesson prior to beginning your next Writing Lesson. These lesson types are meant to complement writing lessons.

Download a copy of this lesson plan here and customize it to make it your own.